GATLINBURG, Tenn. — Robbie
Ferguson is excited about the upcoming 2007
racing season, as he will be chauffeuring the
Copeland Creek Cabins No. 44 Monte Carlo for CWC
Motorsports and car owner Austin Green in the
United Auto Racing Association-Southern Touring
Auto Racing Series.
Green, from Gatlinburg,
Tenn., has fielded entries in the UARA since the
series' beginning, with Mark King behind the
wheel. But with King making the decision to step
back from his full-time racing commitment in
order to spend more time with his young son,
who's started racing go-karts, Green was forced
to search for a new driver.
Green didn't look for a
"young gun," instead he found within the East
Tennessee region the veteran Ferguson, who lives
in Jonesborough. The 45-year-old Ferguson has
been racing for 25 years, and along the way he's
recorded close to 100 feature wins — racing dirt
Late Models throughout the 1980s and Late Model
Stocks since 1991.
"I'm very thankful to
Austin (Green) for giving me the opportunity to
drive for him," said Ferguson. "He's been
involved in racing for several years, and he's
always fielded very good equipment. I really
feel like it's a win-win situation for both
Austin and myself. He's a very competitive car
owner, and I'm a very competitive driver. He
wants to win races, and so do I.
"Our plans for 2007 are
to run for the UARA-STARS championship. Winning
races will be a major goal for this CWC
Motorsports team, but when chasing points you
also have to know when you really aren't in
position to win the race and you just have to
finish the best you can to record the most
points possible. But we've got a brand new
Hedgecock Race Car that we'll run, and under the
hood we'll have a very potent Kowalsky Racing
Engine, and we'll have (Kenny) Hunley Built
Shocks on the car. I can't wait for the season
to get started. Getting to travel full-time with
the touring UARA series is something I'm very
excited about."
Ferguson brings an
impressive resume with him to CWC Motorsports.
During the '80s he captured over 30 dirt Late
Model feature wins. From '91 through '95,
competing at Lonesome Pine (Coeburn, Va.)
Raceway and also at Newport (Tenn.) Speedway,
Ferguson visited victory lane on 26 occasions,
while also winning the Newport Late Model Stock
championship in '92.
With Kingsport (Tenn.)
Speedway changing from a dirt surface to
concrete prior to the start of the '96 racing
season, and with the track competing under the
NASCAR Weekly Racing Series banner, Ferguson was
pleased to once again be racing at the track
where he launched his racing career. From '96
through the '98 racing seasons, Ferguson
finished second in points for three straight
years, while also winning 16 feature events.
Ferguson used his many
years of racing experience to move over to the
role as Team Manager/Consultant for Wolfe Racing
and drivers Wade Day and Matt Wolfe for the '99
and 2000 racing seasons. But he also competed
part-time running selected NASCAR All-Pro Series
events in '99, at Kingsport, Greenville-Pickens
(S.C.) Speedway, Lanier (Gainesville, Ga.),
Caraway (Asheboro, N.C.) Speedway and Orange
County (Rougemont, N.C.) Speedway.
Under Ferguson's guidance,
Day captured Rookie of the Year honors at
Kingsport in '99 while also finishing second in
points and winning seven Late Model Stock
features. The following season saw Day win 14
features while also capturing not only the
Kingsport track title, but more importantly the
NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Blue Ridge Region
Championship. And the teenager Wolfe recorded
three Late Model Stock victories.
In 2001 the
Ferguson Motorsports team with Robbie driving
won eight features out of 14 events entered at
three different tracks.
Wanting to get back on the
track competing full-time, Ferguson launched an
all-out assault in his quest to win the track
title at Kingsport Speedway in 2002. The results
spoke volumes as he visited victory lane on five
occasions and moreso — he captured the Late
Model Stock championship.
"To finally win the track
championship at Kingsport in 2002, that really
was special," said Ferguson reflecting back on
his title season. "That's where I began my
racing career, and I'd come close on five
previous occasions (twice when racing dirt Late
Models, and three times in Late Model Stocks) to
winning a championship only to come up just a
little short. We had a strong overall season and
all the pieces of the puzzle just fell in place
for us.
"Since the end of the 2002
season at Kingsport I've kind of stepped away
somewhat from racing. I've run a few UARA races
and I had my own car and ran some USAR Hooters
Pro Cup events. But basically running the team
out of my back pocket, it's really tough. It's
just so expensive trying to field your own team.
I've wanted to get back to racing full-time for
a good while now. Once you've got racing in your
blood, there's just no way to completely walk
away from the sport. I just can't stress enough
about how excited I am with this opportunity to
drive for Austin Green this season.
It's awesome, to say the least. Both Austin and
I are really excited, and we feel like any event
we show up for we'll be strong contenders for
solid top-five or top-10 finishes. Our goal is
to win, but competing for points we'll be
satisfied with strong finishes. We really plan
to give it our best effort to win the UARA
championship."
Ferguson will have several
of his former crew members who helped win the
championship at Kingsport Speedway turning the
wrenches on the Copeland Creek Cabins No. 44
Monte Carlo in 2007. The team is currently
preparing the car for the UARA season-opener on
March 17 at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway.
Press Release Prepared By:
Robert Walden
Walden Motorsports
Communications
Johnson City , TN
(423) 928-9644